


The Lost Grand Duchess

by Yeyitsleelo



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe-Anastasia, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-01
Updated: 2015-12-07
Packaged: 2018-05-04 08:33:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5327543
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yeyitsleelo/pseuds/Yeyitsleelo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natasha Romanov was forced to live in an orphanage for the past ten years with no memory of who she really is. She decides to live on her own to carry her own weight and to start anew.  But one night she stumbles upon Clint Barton and she might have to rethink her plan in starting over when Clint's brother gives her an offer she could not refuse.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heavily based on the Anastasia movie but the story is not necessarily the same. I saw someone requested this on tumblr and I was WHY THE HELL NOT. Hope you guys enjoy and review!

1916 Petesburg, Russia

"Grandmama! Don't let go!" Ten year old Anastasia pleaded as she held tightly on her Grandmother's hand. Her eyes filled with tears, her heart was beating furiously with fear and her whole body shivered as she tried to trudge on snow.

"Anastasia!"Her poor grandmother pleaded as tried her best to not let go of her granddaughter's hand but because of the heavy snow and the train was getting faster and faster. And because of her old age, she was weak and wasn't able to pull Anastasia to the train causing her to let go of Anastasia's hand.

The Russian princess fell to the cold ground and hit her head, her grandmother's voice calling out her name with anguish started to fade and her grandmother's figure got further away.

And everything went black.

1926 (Present day)

Clint Francis Barton, alias Clinton Dimitri Bessanov was becoming more impatient as each seconds pass by and he was known to be patient all his life. His older brother seem to be noticing too, that Clint was getting frustrated. He would be too, all in honesty. This was the 200th audition that they've had the whole day in the old abandoned theater and the 900th in all three days and they still could not find the perfect Russian Princess to present to the Duchess.

"Damn this, Barney! Let's just go home!" Clint hissed at Barney quietly enough so that the Russians could not hear them. If they find out that they're not Russians, they might go to prison or worse be sentenced to death.

"Patience, little hawk. We'll find our princess." Barney calmly said and Clint rolled his eyes at the nickname which was given to him by his mother. It used to be Barney's way of annoying Clint but now its just an endearment he uses ever since their mother passed away.

"Grandma, it's me! Anastasia!" a middle aged man who was covered in cheap face make up and was dressed in a thick fur coat, stripped infront of them leaving him in a lingerie leaving the coat on the floor. Clint inwardly groaned at the painful sight and wanted to bang his head on this table."

"Da! Spasibo. sleduyushchiy, pozhaluysta (Yes, thank you! Next please!)"Clint said in his perfect Russian. Even a Russian born person wont be able to detect any accent from Clint's part. He learnt the language by heart and by reading books and of course listening to Russians. And he loves to quietly observes his surroundings, he wasn't called "Hawkeye" for no reason. During their 3 month stay in Russia, he was able to pick up the way the Russians talk with their intonations and even mannerisms and culture.

The two brothers decided to call it a night and headed back to their rusty old hostel room. Clint immediately took out a bucket of hot water and placed his feet into the water and he relaxed once his cold feet felt the heat from the water. Since it was Winter, it was another cold night in Russia and Clint cannot stand that cold weather. How Russians were able to handle the cold, he would never know. Clint was used to the summer heat in Iowa in a farm where he grew up. He'd lay down in a hammock by the barn and he'd just lay there and watch the chickens or dogs run around the field. Though, there were painful memories, there were certainly good ones. Weather being one of them.

"Remind me, why are we doing this again?" Clint asked as he enjoyed the heat from the hot water.

"Because we are in dire need of money and the old duchess will give us a whole lot for her granddaughter." His brother said nonchalantly and laid down on the bed.

"But Barney, we're not even sure if the girl we're looking for is in Russia or worst be alive. We have zero to one chance of finding her." Clint reasoned out.

It was all Barney's idea to travel to Russia to find the lost Russian princess and to give her back to the duchess who is more than willing to give a whole sum of money for her. The two brothers needed an escape from their abusive father and left to join the circus much to Clint's protests. But nevertheless he enjoyed it, he found his love for archery during his time in the circus. He began to love it but unfortunately Barney felt as if it wasn't enough so once he found out about the Russian princess, he jumped at the opportunity, took all their savings to find the princess. Barney is the only family he has, so he had no choice but to follow and dare he'd tell his brother that he loves him. They're family, they're supposed to look after one another.

"We don't need to look for the actual princess, Clint. We're just going to find someone who is going to pretend to be her. We'll split the money with the con and we haul our asses back to America and be rich men who drowns in money and gold!" Barney grinned, obviously proud of himself and his cunning idea "You're not even worried that we might get caught? We're not exactly in a country where we're welcomed.

"Don't fret, my dear brother. We are not going to get caught, trust me on this one."Barney rolled his eyes. Sometimes he wonders if Clint was a coward.

"Now when you're done. Throw the water. Get to bed because we've got more fake Grand Duchess Anastasia Romanova to meet tomorrow."

"Whatever, Barney." He muttered.


	2. Chapter 2

"Why do you have to go Natasha?" six year old boy Sven asked the twenty year old red head as she tucked him to the rusty old bed. Natasha wanted to cry but she again, she doesn't. Not that she does not feel anything, of course she does. She just doesn't know how to. And to think that this innocent boy that has been there since he was an infant and Natasha basically raised him, she'd shed a tear but again she doesn't. She didn't want to tell him that she's being kicked out or the orphanage and is forced to

"Carry her own baggage" Madam Volkov worded it so instead she smiled at him and said

"Because I have to grow up, Sven." The boy looked up to her with adoring eyes,

"Like Wendy from Peter Pan? Natasha chuckled at that. The boy sure does love Peter Pan, it's the only book that laid around the orphanage and Sven always asks her to read it before bed time. She nodded but her smile faded when she saw him frown,

"Why can't I grow up now so I can come with you?" She felt her heart melted,

"You will grow up, Sven. But for now, you would have to stay here and wait till you do. And I promise someday we'll see each other again." Natasha vowed that she will never have to come back to the place but maybe one she would, for Sven.

"You promise?" "Da. Dobroy Nochi Sven." She reached and kissed him lightly on the forehead.

"Dobroy Nochi, Natasha." Sven yawned and closed his eyes as he began to sleep. Once she made sure that Sven was sleeping, she kissed him again on the forehead, slowly crept out of the boys bedroom only to see Madame Volkov glaring at her with her hands on her side.

"Why are you not in your room? It's past the bedtime curfew!" She hissed at Natasha who didn't seem fazed by her. Ten long years of being maltreated by this ruthless woman, Natasha no longer felt any inch of fear for this woman.

"I just had to see him one last time before I leave, Madame since I will leave the first thing in the morning and won't be able to say goodbye to Sven." The older Russian woman glared at Natasha, clearly annoyed at how Natasha didn't quiver with fear like she used to.

"Be thankful you worthless piece of shit, that I'm even giving you another night to sleep here. If I wasn't so nice, I would have thrown you into the streets right now!" Natasha resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the woman, she still have one night of having somewhere to sleep in, tomorrow she'll be on her own for the first time. She still needed somewhere to sleep tonight so as much as she hated to be civil for this awful woman, she needed to shut her mouth.

"Da. Nice indeed." She bit her tongue preventing her to say any snarky remark towards the woman and turned her back and walked towards her empty cold room. But seems like Madame Volkov's mission was to ruin her last night,

"Just to let you know, you leaving this place would be the best day of life."

If that was supposed to hurt, Natasha didn't feel anything,

"Likewise Madame. Likewise." With that she shut the door, still feeling Madame Volkov's angry gaze at her. Natasha already packed her all the things she owned, not that she has a lot of things but she was more than ready to get away from this shithole. She slept for four hours and before the day even started, she took her one small duffel and wore a sweater and one old dirty jacket and a hat and scarf that she knitted herself. Not even bothering to look back, she trudged her way through the thick snow. She knew her clothing wasn't enough to survive the cold in Russia but that's her entire wardrobe she owned and she'll be damned if she stays at the orphanage another second.

"Goodbye." She muttered not even looking back. Despite of the heaviness in her feet while she trudged through the snow, she never felt freer for the past ten years till now. She remembered the day she was bought in the orphanage, she was badly bruised in the head and she couldn't remember anything anything that happened before the revolution or anything in her past life for the matter. Her speech was greatly impaired for three years. Madame Volkov had no choice but to take her in but because of having to already be ten years old, no one was interested to adopt a nearly preteen girl. Everyone wanted either an infant or a kid that was lower than five years old. It was probably one of the reasons why Madame Volkov hated her, she was huge weight to carry, and probably why she had to suffer how she was treated. Endless beatings and countless chores was what she had to endure for a long time. She could not help but feel a deep anger towards her "family" whoever they were. How could they have left her wounded in the middle of chaos with no one to turn to and nowhere to go?

"Some family, they are." She thought bitterly to herself but shook the thought away. She refuses to have any feelings for a family she never met or have seen in a memory be it anger or love. God especially not love. Natasha is on her own now and she's fine with it. She never needed anyone in her life. Heck, she'll try her damnest to survive. Come hell or high water.

"Now which way to go?" She has been alone with her thoughts that she didn't realize she came across two signage.

"This way to the fish market." "This way to Moscow" She chose the latter.

"Mother of Jesus Christ, Barney! We are not hiring that…. Man!" Clint ran his fingers through his sandy blonde hair. Damn, his brother must have been desperate that he was actually considering to hire a man dressed in woman's clothing.

"He seems convincing enough with his acting." Barney tried to reason but Clint was not having any of it.

"Sure, all we need to do is go back in time and convince his mother to give to a girl instead of a boy." Barney rolled his eyes at the younger Barton.

"Well what do you suggest we do? It's been almost four months and we have not found our Anastasia yet." Clint paused and let out a sigh,

" I think its time that we should just head home. We still have enough-" He was cut off by his brother,

"Don't even go there Clint. We already invested so much on our plan, I'll be damned to let that go to waste!" "This was your plan from the very beginning and not mine, Barney. We're just wasting our time and money here and not to mention, we can easily be kicked out of this God forsaken country any minute now once they realized that we're not Russian!" Barney shook his head,

"No one will find out-" "Fuck it! I don't'care. I want to go home Barney and I don't care if I sound like a whiny bitch right now. And while we both still have conscience and a hear to not continue with this devious. Look if we go back home, the guys can still hire us! We're one of their best-"

And as the brothers love to cut each other's sentences, Barney cuts him again,

"I don't want to go back to the god damn circus! I am not going to be a piece of entertainment for people with no lives! We deserve better than that Clint!" Clint was silenced which was odd because Clint was never silent when he doesn't need to be. Looking at his brother's eyes, he saw desperation and once again Clint could never say no to his older brother. He was tired of arguing his way with Barney because he never seems to win against his brother. But he knew he needed to step up because their lives were at stake the longer they remain in Russia so Clint thought of an idea. He turned to his brother who looked like he was still seething with anger, Clint rubbed his eyes and gave out a frustrated sigh.

"Fine" Barney's anger quickly dissipated and he gave out a smug look, that look that said

"I win again." Clint wanted to wipe that look on his face and he held his hand up, "We stay, in one condition" Barney raised his eyebrow, and started to open his mouth to protest "I'll give you one more week to find her and if not then I'll be going home."

"With or without you." Clint finished walking out the door and slamming it on his brother's face. Clint leaned against the door. His brother would hate him now but he doesn't care. He's doing what's best and what is smart. He only hoped Barney wouldn't find the perfect "Grand duchess" within a week so he could finally get out of the Russian snow. By god, he needed a drink.

* * *

 

 

Okay so starting over was not as easy as she hoped it would but she did. Sort of. None would hire her because of her lack of education and the fact that she was a woman with no working experience. Natasha was lucky enough to have landed a waitressing job at a local Russian Bar which she loathed with all her being. It has only been a month in working there for drunk Russian idiots but she already despised it. She was paid little but she did not want to complain at all. Luckily the owner of the bar, offers rooms upstairs where his employees can sleep and stay. She was bound to pay rent at end of the month with her salary.

"Сейчас слушает! Hurry up! Your table is waiting! These beers are not going to serve themselves!" The middle aged man yelled at her.

"Da ser." She quickly took the tray with beers and walked towards a table full of men laughing their asses off and smacking the table like idiots. At first, Natasha was terrified to approach these full grown men who seemed they wanted to eat her alive but she was a fast learner and was able to shoo off these men who would try to hit on her. "Here are your drinks, Sir." Natasha said as she placed their beers one by one.

"Ah. Look friends, we've got a snack with our beers! "A man who looked in his forty eyed Natasha up and down. His friends laughed at the comment and appreciately looked at Natasha. It's as if she was wearing anything revealing, in fact she was wearing a long sleeved dress, it covered neck till below. Her red hair hidden with a bonnet. It was her face that made her beautiful. Her big green eyes and her luscious pink lips and the features of her face that made her stood out. She stiffened when she felt a heavy arm wrap around her tiny waist,

" Well hello to you My pretty. How are you?" Natasha looked down and saw that the same man who made a comment earlier was the man who is trying to manhandle her.

"Please. Let go of me." It took her might to not punch him on the face. She may have been in the orphanage for long but she was not weak.

"Wow. I should tell Bartok to tell his employees to not talk back to the loving customer." His voice gentle but his grip tightened as if to threaten her. Natasha inwardly snapped so she smiled which warmed the man's heart and happy that his gesture made her terrified of him. She leant down to his ears, so close that she can smell his disgusting sweat and wanted to gag but she didn't instead,

"You let go of me right now or I'll cut your tongue out so you won't have to tell anyone anything, you disgusting pig." He immediately took his hand away from her, his eyes widened with fear. Natasha had her way with her tone that made people afraid of her which was why she did not have any friends in the orphanage. They were all terrified of her and this man wasn't any different. She smiled at him again as if she just did not threaten him,

"Have a nice night, gentlemen." Natasha walked away with grace, feeling so dirty, She could still feel his hand on her waist and felt disgusted. Later after her shift finishes, she was going to take a long shower. Her night went on, serving drinks to people and minding her own business. She looked at the wall clock, it was about 3 o clock in the morning. The bar looked almost empty except for the man had his head on the bar table with his hands tucked on his face. He appears to be sleeping which Natasha was not surprised because most of them always ended up too drunk to even walk so she lets them sleep. She did not recall ever seeing him enter since she was busy tending for other customers.

"I'm heading home, Natasha. I'll see you tomorrow." Abram who was their senior bartender waved goodbye as Natasha swept the floor. She gave him a polite nod and said goodbye. She was tired and her body was prepared to just lay down but it was her turn to close the bar and there was a lot of cleaning up to do. She began to sweep when suddenly she heard a door opened.

"That's odd." She said to herself, she knows Abram would have closed the door on his way out..

"Did you forget something?" Natasha asked assuming its Abram since hes the only one who had the keys. A mysterious figure appeared and it was the man who was handsy on her earlier, he looked mad and his eyes were bloodshot red which means he was straight up. Before Natasha could even react, he reached for her head and fisted her hair making her tilt her head up. The man reeked of cheap alcohol and sweat. Her scalped burned as he tightened his grip on her and pushed her against the nearest all with his disgusting hand on her neck. She can fill marks forming already on neck as she struggled to breathe. She struggled to remove his hands from her neck, she was skilled but he was still physically stronger than her.

"He-l-"She tried to yell but was silenced when his grip on her neck tightened stopping any air.

"заставить замолчать! You stay silent or I will kill you." He spat her angrily making Natasha want to punch him hard if only she could be free from his grasp.

"Who do you think you are trying to talk to me like that? You're just a little woman! Don't you dare ever talk to me like that ever again! Understand?!" Natasha wanted to die at that moment but she just nodded, desperate for air. The man seems to satisfied with her answer and let her neck go but kept his hand on her hair.

"Good girl." He grinned and cupped his dirty hand on her cheek. He placed his mouth close to hers.

"Now to make sure this never happens again, I'll give you the best punishment of your life." He hissed and she felt her eyes welling up.

With that he reached for his belt to unbuckle with his one hand when suddenly his weight was no longer on hers. It happened so fast, she couldn't comprehend what was happening. Suddenly there were two men brutally fighting each other but based on what she's seeing. The stranger was winning with him punching the old bastard on the floor. Natasha took a good look, the stranger had his grip on the bastard's collar and she saw that his knuckles had a hint of blood. The stranger had an angry look on his face as he punches the man more ready to kill. If that was supposed to scare her, it didn't. She was fascinated to how strong the man was.

"Please don't kill me!" the bastard pleaded to the stranger which made the stranger pause his fist in mid air. The stranger threw him on the floor and pointed at him disgustingly and growled, "I don't know if you were taught by your mother but you don't fucking hit a woman. Ever." He snarled at the last word which even made Natasha shiver. His voice was rough and it sent an unfamiliar feeling in her body. She looked up to see that his blue gray eyes gaze on her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I know this is probably not as good as I hoped it would be. It was so much better in my head and this update is so short but Im like sleep typing here. I did not proofread so if there are any mistakes, I sincerely apologize.

_She felt like she could drown in his intense gaze. She never thought she would see a man with greyish with hints of blue and green in his eyes, it was beautiful such a beautiful combination. He broke the gaze first and Natasha suddenly felt sheepish, he must think she was a creep for staring._

_“Apologize.” The man turned to the drunk bastard who has now a bruised up lip and a broken nose.  “Sorry.” The drunk man mumbled not bothering to meet her in the eyes. The man who still had his hand on his collar yanked him closer. “Louder.” The man hissed. This time that drunk man showed fear in his eyes and he looked lik he was panicking and Natasha almost felt bad for him. Almost._

_“Sorry! Please forgive me! I don’t want to die yet!” the man pleaded, desperation in his voice. Natasha looked at him and just nodded silently.  “Now if I see your face again or if I see you harassing another woman, you will pay for it, understood?!”His voice was stern and it sent shivers to Natasha.  The man nodded hastily and the stranger abruptly lets go of his collar. The drunk man all but dashed out of the door._

_Now it was just him and Natasha and she could not help but feel… vulnerable towards the man who just saved her life. Never in her life that she experienced someone ever saving her life now she was at a point where she did not know how to express gratitude. She crossed and rubbed her forearms unsure of what to say so she just said,_

_“Thank you.” She looked at her dirty floor and then at him who seemed to forgot that she was still there. He was breathing heavily as if he was trying to control his rage and he looked at her._

_“For helping me.” The man just looked her and she couldn’t help but look at the floor again, suddenly feeling shy. Damn it Natasha! What is wrong with you! The man took a fewsteps towards her and naturally she would step back as a defense reflex but somehow she couldn’t move instead she looked up to see his face. He was older than her she could tell , based on the tiny wrinkles around his eyes but they’re not evident on his face._

_He was almost a head taller than her with a stock built body. His dirty blonde hair seem to be sticking out a bit due to the fact he was sleeping before all the commotion happened. H_

_“Are you okay?” he asked worriedly searching her face for any bruises. Natasha was taken back, a few moments ago she’s seen a man who was ready to kill and right now this man was right in front of her worried If she had bruises. “I’m fine. Spasibo.” She said, surprised at how calm she sounded.  The man looked like he was going to say something but just chose not to. He just nodded and just like that he was gone. She did not even know his name_

* * *

 

A week later, she had forgotten about the incident and even forgotten about the mystery man with the intense eyes. She thought it was just best to forget about someone who she probably will never even get to meet. What worried her though was that her idiotic of a boss gave her a shitty low pay for her month’s work. She barely had enough.  

“At this rate, I am never going to be able to survive.” Natasha slumped back at her rusty bed. She was given a salary to pay for her rent but not enough for food or some decent clothing.

 Ylona, who has been in the pub for almost four years and is Natasha’s roommate, rolled her eyes,“Bartok is despicable. He has this way of just putting you down so you wont have anywhere to go and wont leave the pub.” She frowned,

“I don’t have any plans of staying here forever. I just need some place to save money and after that, im out of here.” 

Much to Natasha’s annoyance, Ylona scoffed, “Trust me, I told myself the same thing when I first started and three years later, I’m still here.” 

“I’m different.” Natasha felt the need to defend herself. She spent most of her life being stuck. She certainly don’t want to be stuck here for the rest of her life.

 “Sure you are.”Ylona rolled her eyes and took a puff of her cigarette. Natasha found is revolting that a woman would smoke especially in an indoor area but she chose not to say anything. 

“I am. I’m not going to stay in this shitty place. I’ll get out of here as soon as I’ll be able to save a whole lot of money and just head out of Russia and start all over.”

 Ylona paused, surprised that Natasha had spoke more than one sentence. During the whole month that Ylona had known Natasha, she barely spoke more than two sentences and to have hear her utter more than one sentence then shit just got real, “You really want to get out of here? Well I know just the man who might be able to help you.” 

“Why would you even help me?” Natasha squinted her eyes clearly not believing the woman. 

Ylona just shrugged,“Because unlike me, you still have a chance to get out of this miserable place. I’m already way deep into this mess and I lost that will to get out of here.” 

Natasha paused, clearly still confused why she would help her when she barely even knows her.

 As if she was reading her mind, “I’ve seen so many of your kind and puts their life t waste.. You look like you’ve got your future ahead of you.” 

Natasha didn’t know what to say to that because she honestly she did not know what her future holds., “Thank you, I guess.” 

"Now there’s this man called Barney.” 

 

* * *

 

 

"Ylona darling. What brings you here?" the man politely asked as he gave a kiss on both cheeks. They looked like they were good friends, the way Ylona smiled at him suggested that she feels a little bit more than friendship, Natasha could not help but notice. 

Ylona's cheeks flushed, "Why yes, Barney. I've come for you to meet my friend, Natasha." Ylona turned to Natasha.

 

Natasha inwardly scoffed at that, she hardly thinks as Ylona as a friend. They were not in that stage yet. As if the man had not noticed her before, he turned to her and widened his eyes in surprise but was quick to hide his facial expression.

He reached out his hand, "Nice to meet you, Natasha. I'm Barney."

Natasha looked at it for a few seconds, skeptical of what she should do with it until she felt Ylona's elbow on her arm, "You shake his hand, Natasha."

For a second she felt embarrassed, as someone who has been isolated her whole life, she did not know any simple social etiquette. If the man had noticed, he did not show it instead he gave her a polite smile. And after they shook hands, Barney turned to Ylona once again.

"So what is going on?" She liked that he was direct about things, not going in all different directions.

Ylona nodded, "Well i heard about the thing that you and Clint wanted to do and I was wondering if Natasha can be of any help." Ylona said.

Barney looked at her again, this time as if he was watching her. She could not help but think that he seemed familiar but she was sure that she had never met him in her whole life. His gaze was oddly familiar as if he has seen her before, like he was trying to figure who she is. However, all thoughts were thrown out when he asked.

"Are you a natural redhead?" Barney asked out of curiosity.

The question was not foreign to her, almost everyone that has seen her has asked her about her fiery red hair. She could understand though, her hair was really hard to miss but one thing that surprised her was Why was Barney asking her that question.

Natasha nodded, "Yeah I am."

He looked at her again which was beginning to irk her and after what seemed like a long time.

Barney gave her a huge grin, "Boy, Clint is so going to be pleased he meets you."

She sensed a sarcastic playful tone in his voice.

_Who the hell is Clint?_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Take it easy on the dislike reviews! AHAHAH! I don't write as often as before so I might be lil but rusty.


End file.
